


Saddled

by blue_assassin



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Based on a Tumblr Post, Feels, M/M, but it gets squashed real quick, temporary happiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:21:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26859646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blue_assassin/pseuds/blue_assassin
Summary: Ethari is ready to see his husband and daughter again but then, everything changesORA ficlet purely based on Runaan's lotus sinking rather than his return home cos @beautifulterriblequeen made me with her heart-wrenching headcannon on tumblr T^T
Relationships: Ethari & Rayla & Runaan (The Dragon Prince), Ethari/Runaan (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 41





	Saddled

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beautifulterriblequeen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifulterriblequeen/gifts).



> So, again, this prompt is all thanks to @beautifulterriblequeen on tumblr for her headcannon of the same name as this ficlet. I hope I did it justice, lass! Thank you!

Ethari had been counting the days since the full moon. Since the four lotuses sank. Since the mission had ended. Though the entire village grieved at the loss of three of their best assassins (their family and friends especially), all Ethari could think was that his family was alive. They were alive and they were probably on their way home right now.

He knew how fast they could travel together, it had been just under two weeks since that day and Ethari knew how fast his Runaan and Rayla could travel when they were together. He wanted to meet them at the border; bring them food, medical supplies, anything they might need-and need in _private_ , away from the wide attentions of the grove. He knew from experience that they would need it, especially Rayla because it had been her first mission. Not only that, but it had been her first mission, and it had gone _badly_. And that was a heavey burden to carry. 

He carefully placed a basket of moonberry tarts and extra fruits in a knapsack, along with his leather-bound pack of gauze, healing salves, and balmberries to bring them, making sure everything was right for when he met them at the border. Excitement and relief surged through Ethari as he checked and double checked his things. In just a few hours, he’d see his family again. He’d see Runaan and Rayla, the people he loved more than anything. In a moment of selfishness, he felt extremely relieved that out of all of the assassins on the mission, they were the two who had survived.

His supplies passed their little examination and Ethari made his way out of the house and down to the paddock where Tethu and Lachir were tethered. The large feline let out a happy yowl upon seeing his master. He purred happily and nuzzled Etharis side affectionately as the craftsman moved to take the large saddle down off the rack.

“Hello to you, too.” Ethari smiled, scratching his large muzzle softly. He slipped the harness over the cat’s head and back, tightening the reins sufficiently before repeating the process on Lachir. The elegant moonstrider was definitely more partial to her owner and fidgeted a bit from the unfamiliar hands fastening her saddle, but she was well trained and a few soothing words from Ethari did the trick to allow him to secure the strapping around her.

A buzz of nervous anticipation flowed through Ethari as he led the two mounts back to the base of the stairs so he could retrieve the packs. He had been so worried about this mission, even going so far as to begin to prepare himself for the worst, but here he was, ready to meet his family at the border to escort them home.

Tethu padded his feet, prancing in place in anticipation of a ride and making Ethari laugh. He scratched behind the animal’s ears, “Yes, I know. Let me go get a few things and we can go.”

And so he did. He practically ran back up the stairs to the house before grabbing the packs off the table and dashing back out again. The last thing he wanted was to miss Runaan and Rayla on their way back. He wanted to be there as they came over the border. He wanted to be there to hold them, and comfort them and tell them it would be okay. He needed to be there to help them in any way they needed.

Ethari fastened the packs to Lachir’s saddle. Then, he mounted Tethu and cast one last look back at the lotus pool. They were alive. They were on their way home and he’d make sure he was there to-

Hestopped abruptly. Perhaps it was just a trick of the light- please let it just be that- but as Ethari glanced over the surface of the water, one of the two floating flowers began to tremble and spin ever so slowly. His eyes widened in horror as he threw himself off of Tethu and stumbled over to the lotus pool.

It was Runaan’s.

_No. No, no, no,_ “No!” Ethari cried, hot tears stinging his eyes already.

He watched, devastated and desperately unbelieving as the flower’s crystal blinked slowly and the delicate metal sank beneath the surface. A heart wrenching, gasping cry, one stemming deep from the deepest part of his heart, tore itself from his lips and he fell over the edge of the pool sobbing painfully.

He pleaded desperately for this all to be a dream, some sort of agonizing fantasy his mind had conjured up as a result of his stress and sleep deprivation. This couldn’t be real. It simply _couldn’t_. The world seemed to swirl and tilt around him, sounds dulled and his sense numbed. Tears fell down his face in rivulets, but Ethari noticed none of it as he stared at the spot his husband's lotus once was.

_You promised, Runaan,_ he thought, _My heart. You promised._

Everything he had planned, all the hoping and waiting and longing he had done, it was all for nothing. It was useless, wrong, pointless. Runaan and Rayla weren’t coming home, they weren’t even _together_ anymore. Everything he had assumed and thought as true about their position was a lie, and now there was nothing he could do about it. It was too late. As much as it pained him to his very core to admit it, he was too late. 

Ethari didn’t know how long he sat there, staring at the spot in the water where Runaan’s lotus had once floated, nor did he care. There was nothing anymore. No sound, no sense, not light, nothing. He couldn’t even feel the tears anymore. He just felt numb. Completely numb.

When he did, through some feat of superhuman strength, stand up again, everything had changed. His world, once full of colour, was suddenly monochrome and empty. Sucked of life and killed along with Runaan.

He blinked in surprise when he felt a fuzzy head nudge under his arm softly and looked down to see Tethu next to him, gazing up with big, sad eyes. Another spike of pain surged through him. He couldn’t bear to look at his two saddled mounts, all prepped and ready for their trip. A trip that he would never take. A reunion that would never come. He looked away. It was all too fresh and it hurt too much.

And yet, despite the pain each glance brought him, he couldn’t take the saddles off yet either. If he did that, he’d be letting go of the mission he was going to make. He would be letting go of that reunion he had anticipated. He would be letting go of Runaan. And he couldn’t do that. He could _never_ do that.

So he shooed the two animals away, with barely a word. Tethu gave him a look, obviously concerned for his master, but followed Lachir obediently back to the paddock anyway as Ethari returned to his workshop slowly. He locked himself away for the rest of the week. He tried to work, to immerse himself in some project to help ease the pain, but none of it helped. It was as if Ethari’s heart had been ripped in two, one half for his husband, and the other for his daughter that would never come home. Visitors from the village came and went over the next few days to offer comfort or condolences, but he barely processed each simple interaction. Eventually, the visits became commonplace and dull. 

Until there was one that wasn’t.

.

He saw her through the reflection of a sword, his eyes widening a fraction and the pain in his heart returned like never before.

“Rayla.” he said.

**Author's Note:**

> So, there it is. Might make a shorter second chapter covering the rest of the Lotus Pool scene from S3, but I dunno. What do y'all think?


End file.
